Birdwatch: Non-breeding Little Blue Heron spotted

Down in Louisiana, the little blue heron is a common sight in the bayous.

In March, when Eric and I toured that state’s fascinating Atchafalaya Swamp
as dawn’s early light seeped through the bayou’s backwaters, we saw hundreds
of them.

At first they were barely visible, unlike their cousins, the bright white
snowy egrets which resembled explosions of white powder puffs while roosting in
the trees. But as the daylight strengthened, what looked like shadowy blurs
turned out to be non-breeding little blue herons.

Unlike our stately great blue heron with which most of us are familiar, the
little blue is, well, littler. It’s size is listed in both the National
Geographic Society’s Birds of North America, the Peterson’s Field Guide to
the Birds East of the Rockies, and Earl Godfrey’s The Birds of Canada as being
24 inches or 60 cm. (The great blue is 46 inches, or 117 cm.)

Because we had recently seen this species, it was with great interest that I
read The Ottawa Citizen’s Saturday bird column by Elizabeth LeGeyt. Here’s
what she wrote:

“The weather that contributed to the amazing influx of migrating birds
resulted in some unusual birds being reported. A blue-gray gnatcatcher in
Britannia, a little blue heron flying south over Shirley’s Bay and an orchard
oriole in Crystal Beach.”

I noted the paragraph particularly because of the little blue heron, happy to
note that whereas I would need to check my bird books to refresh my memory on
what the orchard oriole and blue-gray gnatcatcher look like, that hurray, I
actually know first-hand what the little blue heron is like, thanks to the
Louisiana visit.

After morning coffee I went out into the garden for a day of weeding and
planting vegetable seeds.

At dusk, I was taking my last walkaround, a final reward I permit myself
after all the day’s work is done. And at this time of year, I’m always drawn
to our pond as it is teeming with life. Not only are the frogs chirping their
mating songs, but there are chubby tadpoles to see, budding iris, and the
amazing water bugs.

When my footsteps approached our bridge, I heard a wild scuffling sound
coming from beneath it. What was this, I wondered? The noise was frantic and
then, with a burst of energy, a little blue heron flapped its way into the
dwindling light, right beneath my feet. Thrilled, I watched its zig-zag,
frightened flight as it flew up our little spring-fed brook.

It paused on a low, fallen poplar that still dangles over the water, above
the splash of yellow marsh marigolds.

Dark slate blue body. Head and neck a chestnut-to-purple-brown colour. Legs a
dark olive-yellow colour. Yes! A little blue heron right here on the Steele
Line..

According to Godfrey’s book, these herons’ status in Canada is listed as
“Rare non-breeding spring, summer and autumn wanderer to eastern Canada.
Recorded in Moisie Bay in Québec, August 1928.)”

As for their breeding range, the book tells us, “Breeds in the southern
Atlantic and Gulf states, north along the coast to Massachusetts (casually), and
south through Central America to Peru and Uruguay. Wanders northward
occasionally to southeastern Canada.”

What a sighting this was. Heads up to birdwatchers in the Pontiac. Let me
know if you spot this rare visitor, too, and don’t be shy to report your
sightings. Also, keep the Pontiac’s visibility up, and report your bird
sightings to LeGeyt in The Ottawa Citizen. After all, with the click of your
computer keyboard, you can send your sightings to me and to her simultaneously.
Add her e-mail address, elegeyt@magma.ca to your list.

***

Special note: did you hear all the news last week from Environment Canada
about the use of pesticides? Health Canada and other departments and
organizations seemingly are just waking up. They are advising Canadians not to
use pesticides (or herbicides) as these pollutants seep into our groundwater and
endanger our children’s (and our) health.

This seemingly earth-shattering revelation ought not to be such “news.”
But here in Pontiac, our rural agricultural economy sees farmers using tons of
chemical fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides to produce our food.

Please: we are all in this together and this comment is NOT intended as
farmer-bashing. After all, I buy commercially grown foods and cannot afford to
purchase organic foods. So how are we to switch to an organic, chemical-free
food industry? Does organic farming work on a large-scale operation? (I have
heard it does not, but am uninformed about this point.)

It is one thing to grow organically as we do, in our own small vegetable
plot. It is one thing for us to have a pesticide free lawn.

How are we going to manage this issue of pesticides and herbicides at the
larger level?

***

Katharine Fletcher is a freelance writer living
north of Quyon. Contact her at fletcher.katharine@gmail.com